[It is at this point that Eun wonders if she's not being clear. If she's not making the finer point and nuance of what has occurred to her and what she's feeling understandable to him. Does he understand the significance of what she's saying? She keeps telling him that yes, she appreciates his giving her time, and she is going to take it because there is still so much more to discuss and experience, but to Eun it almost feels as if she has to explain herself again.
But he is speaking now, and so she listens, letting her fingers trail under his chin now.
And it's then that she hears him speak his mate's name for the first time. She knew that he had one and that she died, but not how. Not the details. Her movements still as he holds her gaze and explains what he has been through. The full extent of what he experienced, not just the grief of losing his mate and how she died, or even the centuries he spent running from her killer. The full story of how he thought he was going mad, and the vulnerabilities and weaknesses one takes on by being mated.
There are things she did not ask him about mating bonds, did not think to ask, but he tells her now, adding context to his story. Her hand slips down until she cups the side of his neck, letting it rest there in a wordless gesture of support as he tells her the full truth.
She doesn't see the point that he is trying to get to until he is there, perhaps gently suggesting that it is not only Eun who is feeling the rightness of their pairing, but the wolf who may yet be influencing her also. Responding the draw of a capable Alpha who, responding to Eun's feelings and also her desire to live more than a decade beyond the moment, could provide for them security and protection.
It is nothing even approaching a rejection or reproach, but the whole of what he's imparted startles her all the same. She doesn't know where to begin to respond. The story of his mate is beyond tragic. Even at its bare bones it makes her wolf claw at her from within with anger for what happened to Sarai and Asil, for how the witch tormented him for decades and pushed him to the brink. There is the information about what happens to werewolves who lose their mates, as well as the fact that their wolves may decide they wish to be mated too strongly before the bond is there between the humans. Too soon, before they can be sure...
Asil's persistent comments about not pressuring her or rushing her, about letting her have all the time she needs makes sense. It is not just an offer or even a reminder, but his way of letting her know what he wants for them as well. That he wants for himself. For her to take the time to know so that if and when they are mated, it has not been done in haste or with any lingering misgivings.
He has her heart and he is the one who recognizes better than she that this period of wooing her is really only just begun.
Asil deserves a response, a proper reply to all that he's told her, but as she sits there in his kitchen, wearing his shirt and eating cinnamon rolls at his table, she feels quite foolish. Eun forces a tight smile on her face and nods.]
Okay. I get it. Thank you for explaining and...for sharing with me what you went through. So I would understand and understand you better.
[Even as she says it, she knows he deserves so much more than that. However, so much of the certainty she felt moments ago is gone, and her mind gives way to the quiet chaos of too many thoughts and questions for herself, and the faint distress she feels at her more recent comments. She does not trust herself to put any of what she's thinking to words except for one thing.]
I'm so sorry about Sarai, and what happened to you both. I'm glad the witch cannot hurt either of you anymore.
no subject
But he is speaking now, and so she listens, letting her fingers trail under his chin now.
And it's then that she hears him speak his mate's name for the first time. She knew that he had one and that she died, but not how. Not the details. Her movements still as he holds her gaze and explains what he has been through. The full extent of what he experienced, not just the grief of losing his mate and how she died, or even the centuries he spent running from her killer. The full story of how he thought he was going mad, and the vulnerabilities and weaknesses one takes on by being mated.
There are things she did not ask him about mating bonds, did not think to ask, but he tells her now, adding context to his story. Her hand slips down until she cups the side of his neck, letting it rest there in a wordless gesture of support as he tells her the full truth.
She doesn't see the point that he is trying to get to until he is there, perhaps gently suggesting that it is not only Eun who is feeling the rightness of their pairing, but the wolf who may yet be influencing her also. Responding the draw of a capable Alpha who, responding to Eun's feelings and also her desire to live more than a decade beyond the moment, could provide for them security and protection.
It is nothing even approaching a rejection or reproach, but the whole of what he's imparted startles her all the same. She doesn't know where to begin to respond. The story of his mate is beyond tragic. Even at its bare bones it makes her wolf claw at her from within with anger for what happened to Sarai and Asil, for how the witch tormented him for decades and pushed him to the brink. There is the information about what happens to werewolves who lose their mates, as well as the fact that their wolves may decide they wish to be mated too strongly before the bond is there between the humans. Too soon, before they can be sure...
Asil's persistent comments about not pressuring her or rushing her, about letting her have all the time she needs makes sense. It is not just an offer or even a reminder, but his way of letting her know what he wants for them as well. That he wants for himself. For her to take the time to know so that if and when they are mated, it has not been done in haste or with any lingering misgivings.
He has her heart and he is the one who recognizes better than she that this period of wooing her is really only just begun.
Asil deserves a response, a proper reply to all that he's told her, but as she sits there in his kitchen, wearing his shirt and eating cinnamon rolls at his table, she feels quite foolish. Eun forces a tight smile on her face and nods.]
Okay. I get it. Thank you for explaining and...for sharing with me what you went through. So I would understand and understand you better.
[Even as she says it, she knows he deserves so much more than that. However, so much of the certainty she felt moments ago is gone, and her mind gives way to the quiet chaos of too many thoughts and questions for herself, and the faint distress she feels at her more recent comments. She does not trust herself to put any of what she's thinking to words except for one thing.]
I'm so sorry about Sarai, and what happened to you both. I'm glad the witch cannot hurt either of you anymore.